Ryan Fitzpatrick (6-foot-2, 223 pounds) is in his 14th season out of Harvard. The Buccaneers are the seventh team he has started for; to put that in perspective, well-traveled former Bears quarterback Josh McCown has started for six teams.

The 35-year-old Fitzpatrick played well enough through three weeks to keep Jameis Winston, the No. 1 pick in 2016, on the bench after he returned this week from a three-game suspension. Fitzpatrick enters Week 4 leading the NFL with 1,230 passing yards and a whopping 11.1 yards per attempt.

“He’s one of the most hot-and-cold quarterbacks I have watched because when he’s on, he’s ultra-aggressive and he plays with no fear and he will attack the secondary with second- and third-level throws,” a scout said. “He doesn’t win with intermediate throws. He wins going downfield. That is where he wants to go with the football, and the best thing for him is that is what Dirk Koetter wants to do in Tampa. They drafted Ronald Jones at running back and that hasn’t worked so far, and Peyton Barber is just a fill-in guy. So they know they’re not going to run the ball consistently and they’re using their weapons outside.

“They’re using the tight end O.J. Howard a lot more, and he’s really helped Fitzpatrick out. He might have freakish ability. When Fitzpatrick gets in trouble, it’s when he just chucks it and when he starts attacking those tight windows and won’t come off those throws. He will give every defense — the Bears this week — opportunities to make plays, and you wonder from a defensive perspective when he’s going to go off the cliff because when he goes off the cliff, he goes headfirst and that is when you have the multiple-interception games.

“He’s extremely tough and he’s got better mobility than people would think, and he’s not afraid to pull the ball down and run for the sticks. But when he’s at his best, he’s throwing from the pocket. His arm strength is average. He doesn’t have a rocket for an arm, but he’s really good with timing and when he sees a window open, he doesn’t hesitate and he lets the ball go. He puts the ball in position where the wide receivers can run under it. He throws with nice touch. It will be interesting to see how long he can hold off Winston.”